Embellish your World

Photos still not here :(

Well my "for-ages" (not forever and not ages, but for-ages) photo upload and order has yet to arrive so I haven't been able to progress very far with the next part of Cover to Cover. Luckily I had a couple of images already printed out to play with at today's crop and managed a layout with my DT kit for June. I also pretty much completed one of my cybercrop classes for the June 2012 ATDML cybercrop which is coming next month.

They also have a giveaway on at the moment to win a Simple Stories 6x6 pad, click here and leave a comment to be entered, ends on Monday 14th May.

 

More Shimelle weekend inspired layouts

As previously blogged I took part in the online scrapping weekend that Shimelle put on last weekend. Whilst I did some layouts during the ATDML retreat I played along with several of the others this weekend (in between some serious spring cleaning I might add!) and have a couple to share.

My completed challenge #4 (to scrap with grey/yellow and one other colour) I chose teal blue and used the scrummy MME follow your heart papers. Noticed that this challenge in particular was very popular given the number of layouts being shared at Shimelle.com, made nice and easy by the scrummy grey/yellow combo of papers that the scrapbooking industry have given us these last couple of years. I know I was rather fond on the Queen Bee range from Pink Paislee a year or so back which used this colour combo very well.

Moving on I also started to create a layout inspired by Challenge 1 and the lovely page by Jaime Warren, but I then went off on a tangent and any resemblance to the original page now seems rather lost! I did however scrap a "not so great" photo on this page which was Challenge #15 so I could claim to be killing two birds with one stone on this one! The photo was taken in 2005 by my husband of my then youngest and I on the beach. Sadly we have a buggy, a lunch box and several people in the background too, and so not the greatest photo but one of the few I have of his first trip to the seaside so it was worthy of telling the tale.  Another page using more MME!

Challenge #11 was to scrap a page using two patterned papers that took up 1/3 and 2/3 of the page each. I used Simple Stories Fabulous papers for this challenge and whilst the layout looks as if I didn't use the 1/3 of one paper and 2/3 of another it actually does. The paper representing 1/3 of the pattern at the top is from a sheet with several stripes of papers from the collection on it, so in using a 4" strip you end up seeing floral, strips and the ledger paper. I joined the two with a strip of washi tape and used the ledger paper for my journalling.

Final challenge that I have undertaken was the last of Shimelles from the weekend (#16) which was to create a page using scraps from your weekend. As mentioned before I taught a Simple Stories class last weekend which I wasn't overally happy with, not sure why, I just wasn't and so I wanted to create a second page from the kit to give those taking the class more for their buck. Turns out the second layout was more popular than my original (which people still did!) but the use of a repeated punched shape and left over papers made for a quick and easy page that pleased several delegates. So here is my original class layout (minus the journalling I have still to add)

...and here is the page using a sheet of cardstock and left overs scraps of paper and stickers from the kit.

Sorry photo is a bit blurred - I will try and replace with a better one but here is a close up.

I think that little ole postage stamp punch worked it's socks off last weekend with several people borrowing it to recreate the simple page.  So there it is, plenty scrapbooking shared and I still have more pages to share from last weekend so expect another image filled post soon!

Photos from the cruise

Eventually after recovering from poorlyness, catching up with housework and the day job, and coping with no laptop (typing this on a new one) I can finally share some holiday snaps.

Just a few pictures the last one of which featured on one of the two classes I taught last weekend at the 10th ATDML scrapbooking retreat.

I still need to add my journalling to complete the page which used Simple Stories AWESOME range of papers and painting through the Prima brick mask.  There were some fab variations of the class which is one of the things I love most about teaching. My second class used MME Miss Caroline papers and I created two pages... something to see on my next blog post which won't be in weeks time!

I know I've been quiet...

...but I am still here honest! Have had so much on this month that all I have been doing is updating my facebook via my phone in between to-do lists! I very much need my forthcoming holiday, a first for the five of us abroad and we are beyond excited! One of my very best friends will be getting married aboard the cruise we are about to take aboard this lovely ship , P&O's Ventura.

We have posh frocks & high heels for the girls and super smart tuxedos for the boys, I can't wait to take a zillion photos on what is sure to be a holiday of a lifetime for us.

Not long after we come back I will be teaching at the 10th ATDML scrapbooking retreat which I am equally as excited about. I am teaching two classes, one designed and finished, the other a work-in-progress to have photos added to and a couple of bits and pieces when we get back! The class list loks as amazing as ever and I for one am having a hard time chosing which ones to take! Of course between the two events we have easter too so plenty for April as well as March, but I will endeavour not to be as quiet as I have been blogging!

I'll leave you with one of my March ATDML Gallery layouts - a scraplift from Simple Stories blog which you can read more about here.  See you soon lovelies xxx

February ATDML Gallery is up

I have much blog catching up to do after a couple of real busy weeks with work and poorly children/half term but for now I wanted to share that the gallery for February is up for ATDML. I created lots of projects this month and a welcome run of creativity meant I had all my projects done within a weekend!

A nice simple page to start with, multiple photos, plenty of journalling, pretty papers - just as I like them!

I then mixed it up a bit for this next layout of my youngest and his first passport photo which features papers by My Minds Eye, Bo Bunny and, my favourite at the moment, Simple Stories. Even had a bit of a spritz on this page using Pumice Stone ink mixed with water in a tiny mister - great fun now I have practiced more! Again multiple photos here (albeit many of the same image - but they cost nearly £10 for six and I only needs two to send off!) and plenty journalling once more.

Another page, mostly with the My Minds Eye Lost and Found 2 papers this time is a single 6x4 photo layout cos the papers were too pretty to cover up much more! A rare layout about me, but I am eager to do more as I am sure my kids will be as interested in learning about my life as recalling their own.  I need to do more pages about my mum too and managed to get some nice shots of her and my dad with my kids at a family party last weekend.

Plenty sharing there, and how sparkly are those papers?! I have another layout, a card and giftbag I created too. I will share those later this week, but once more it is later than I realised and so I must away to the land of nod! ttfn lovely people x

Catching up

I am been super productive this week plenty of those little jobs finished off hence the lack of blog update. We have decorators coming in tomorrow to assist us in completing a few more tasks too as we continue to win the battle against the house! Hoping the boys are old enough now that the decorating/new carpet will not be destroyed in five minutes, that being one of the main reasons we have held off since the loft conversion was completed almost 2 and a half years ago! Their rooms were all done but we didn't refresh the communal area stairs/hall etc whilst little finger prints were still capable of destruction in 10 seconds! Saying that Jamie is only 5 next month so I guess it could still happen!

Health and fitness wise I continue to win that battle and make great strides towards my goals. My second swimathon training session by far exceeded my aim of 40 lengths (which was an increase of 4 on last weeks 36) but instead I managed 50! That is half the distance I am aiming to cover in April. Took me 50 minutes to do, so my overall aim to complete 100 lengths in 90 minutes may be doable after all with some more training.

This week I also lost the largest amount of weight in a week since I have been slimming which did make me smile and just 3 more lb and I drop down yet another stone bracket!  Still have 10 more weeks til my friends wedding and our cruise holiday to get a little more comfortable in my dress, but my weightloss journey will continue past this deadline so I don't see it as a finish line by any means. Didn't stop me enjoying a divine curry and beer with my husband last night either as we celebrated his 39th birthday and planned our trip to New York (fingers crossed) for his 4oth next year!

Finally, before I depart for what was supposed to be an early night(!) I wanted to share the full Simple Stories layout I taught at our ScrapMates debut crop for 2012 last weekend.  Some of you may have already seen it in the ATDML gallery or indeed on their blog, but incase you haven't (non-scrapping friends!) here it is.

You can read all about the crop here and see the papers need to create the above page here.

Simple Stories Gallery

The January Gallery is up over at A Trip Down Memory Lane and features over 50 illustrations with Simple Stories papers. Here is a quick peak at some of my creations for that gallery, and then I am away to sleep!

Simple stories have a great blog too with plenty of inspiration which can be found clicking on this link and there facebook page is here.

I am looking forward to teaching one of these pages at the Enfield ScrapMates crop this Saturday. More infromation about the crop, venue etc can be found on the blog.

Cheesy grin photo

Love this photo of hubby and I taken on Sunday, nuff said really.

As mentioned yesterday the DT gallery for Christmas is now up on ATDML. Here are a couple of my projects for this month.

Tomorrow I will share my layout of Timmy the Elf - or you can pop over to the ATDML Christmas gallery now!

I am still here honest

Where does the time go really? I am still here, just busy being a working mum and preparing for the forthcoming season. Think I am all done on gift buying now, and ordered my turkey today, so just wrapping and veggies and I think we are all set.

Cards are also all written and those not being hand delivered are in the post. Very few handmade cards this year, just no time with everything else and  more demanding job leaves me emotionally exhausted of an evening of late so I'm not crafting quite as prolifically as I usually do. Hopefully with the resurrection of my crop in January I will start to get more done again - I don't think it helps that my craft room currently looks like Santa's grotto! Here is one handmade card I made with my ATDML design team kit for Dec which featured lots of different festive ranges.

The full gallery should be up in a day or two, in the meantime, here are a few sneaks of my other projects.

Bo Bunny gallery

The Bo Bunny gallery is up over at A Trip down memory lane full of layouts and cards by the DT. Here are my creations for this month.

Love these vibrant Autumnal papers "Forever Fall" which can be found here in the ATDML store.

The fun Sweet Tooth papers are perfect for boys or girls and I loved scrapping this photo of my boys that I shared on a previous blog post, gotta be one of my fave photos of 2011 I think. The left overs make great birthday cards too (I made several of these to keep as spares!)

I struggled initially with these Liberty Papers, but then remembered we were in San Francisco on 4th July 2003 and so I can use those I have left for another page! In the meantime I focused on the star part of the pattern and plenty of distressing for my hopscotch page of Jamie. 

The rest of the DT gallery can be seen here if you are a fan of Bo Bunny, or just for some general crafting inspiration!